The Jewish congregation located at 308 East 55th Street has announced its completion of a huge building renovation that has transformed the sanctuary into a true space for thoughtful worship.
Both the building and the congregation are among the most venerable of the neighborhood’s inhabitants. Originally founded as Chevra Bnei Leive in 1906, the congregation purchased the building from a Baptist Church in 1916, when East 55th Street was paved with cobblestones and horse carts still gathered at the public market beside the Queensboro Bridge.
Or Olam is affiliated with the Jewish Conservative Movement. It is a progressive and egalitarian congregation with respect to participation in all rituals and recitation of the liturgy, and embraces members of the LGBT community.
With a history more than a century old, the congregation has great reason to celebrate the renovation as a renewal, especially prior to the Jewish High Holy Days coming up in mid-September, this year.
